Undergraduate Research

Our faculty and their research are some of the many reasons to choose the Viterbi School for the pursuit of your engineering degree. We are consistently among the top universities for the number of faculty members who have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and many of our faculty have also won other prestigious awards. As a Viterbi undergraduate, you can participate in research that addresses many of tomorrow’s problems. Leading areas of research at USC include biomimetic microelectronic systems, alternative energy, laser and lightwave technologies, biotechnology, structural safety, software engineering, robotics, nanostructures, extreme events, transportation systems, and many more!

There are many ways to get involved in faculty projects and research. The university offers several programs and awards for research funding and placement, and Viterbi offers our own ways for students to get involved as well. In addition to Viterbi’s formal and selective programs, many students get involved in research through participating n competition and design teams,volunteering in faculty labs, and taking Directed Research. Here are just a few examples of projects students are currently working on in research here.

Join Dr. Tambe in the USC Center for Artificial Intelligence in Society, where his research focuses on “AI for Social Good.” Dr. Tambe is pioneering real-world deployments of security games to some day be used in police and military training.

Dr. Paul Ronney is a trained astronaut and mechanical engineer. His research focuses on flame ignition by transient plasma discharges, bioengineering, and more, and one of his experiments, a study of premixed-gas flames at low gravity, flew on three Space Shuttle missions.

In Dr. Andrea Armani’s lab, undergraduate students have the opportunity to work with novel nanotechnologies, and develop new methods for biosensors and other disease detection techniques.

185

Million dollars in externally funded research every year

37

National Academy of Engineering USC faculty members

13

Faculty included in MIT Technology Reviews 35 under 35 innovators

Class Projects

Many classes during your curriculum here at USC will involve some level of hands on activity. Some classes, like Mechoptronics and Chemical Engineering Lab, will be almost exclusively lab based. In contrast, other classes might have only one or two labs associated with it. These projects and labs complement the theory that is discussed in the classroom, and give you real world experience of what engineers do. Here we’ve highlighted just a few that we think are cool, but remember this is only a very small selection of all the class projects you might do during your four years here! Plus, most majors have a hands on senior capstone course which allows you to delve into whatever project you are most interested in.

Build an electric guitar and rock out in EE 202- Linear Circuits

Synthesize aspirin in brand new chemistry labs during organic chemistry

Student-Led Design Teams

Student-led design teams are groups of students passionate about creating things. Whether that passion is cars, rockets, or 3D printing, groups of students come together to make and build things utilizing a variety of spaces on campus. These groups will teach you any skills you need to help engineer their projects, and give you the freedom to be involved as much or as little as you want. These groups also provide great networking and mentoring opportunities with upperclassmen and industry. Here we highlight just a few of the design teams on campus, with new ones forming all the time.

Rocket Lab

Be the first student group to put a rocket in space

SC Racing

Design and build a Formula 1 style car to race.

Underwater Robotics

Build a submarine style robot to complete specific tasks

Aerodesign Team

Build a model plane to bring to competition.

Concrete Canoe

Create a canoe out of concrete that actually floats

3D4E

Make 3D printing accessible to everyone.

Just to name a few. Check out more design teams and other Viterbi Orgs